5 Day Wine Tour in Szekszárd and Villány, Hungary

Enjoy the landscape of “Hungarian Tuscany” in Bátaapáti where Marqesi Antinori found the proper place for his white wines. You will complete your wine tour with cultural programs, such as visiting a paprika museum and visiting Pécs which was the European Capital of Culture in 2010. There, you are going to search for architectural treasures and visit the Cathedral or Zsolnay Porcelain Manufacturer.

Itinerary

Day 1

You leave Budapest in the morning and head south to a unique cellar-row village. There are over 1,000 tiny cellars built two-three hundred years ago. You are going to stroll among the cellars, taste some wines and after enjoying your traditional Hungarian lunch, you will be traveling further to Kalocsa. It is one of the most famous Hungarian villages, one of the bishoprics, founded by the first king of Hungary around 1000.

The Kalocsa Embroidery with authentic Hungarian patterns is among the highest quality hand sown lacework available from Hungary. Before you head to Szekszárd, you will pay a short visit to the paprika museum and learn about the most typical Hungarian spice. Later in the afternoon, you check-in to your hotel and have a little time for relaxation before your wine tasting and dinner.

Day 2

To kick off the day, you will visit a barrel manufacturer and learn about oak barrels, toasting, and tradition. Later, you drive to “Tuscany” to visit an exceptional wine estate near Szekszárd. The enchanting landscape, the cellar, and the wines show a different picture of Hungary. In spite the fact, that the region is more famous for their red wines, white ones doing very well here. You will have a Goulash lunch after the wine tasting. You will leave to the town of Szekszárd and have a short break during the way at a local honey producer.

You will have two hours for yourselves for further exploring the town, having coffee at a vintage cafe or an interactive wine tour, introducing the wine region and the winemaking traditions. One of the most appreciated winemakers is expecting you at his amazing cellar for tasting and discussing the important things of life. He and his family proudly cherish the winemaking heritage of the region; they are devoted to making wines with an outstanding quality. You are going to taste Kékfrankos and Kadarka and some of their single vineyard selection. Dinner and overnight will be in Szekszárd.

Day 3

You will leave to Pécs in the morning for a guided sightseeing tour. Pécs is a city of knowledge and history. The local city center with its ancient Christian remains from the Roman years was declared a World Heritage Site in 2000 by UNESCO. You are also going to have lunch in the city before visiting the Zsolnay Porcelain and Pottery Manufacturer, famous for its porcelain, ceramics tiles, and stoneware. You will travel further to Villány late in the afternoon and check-in at the hotel.

Villány is a wine region located in the southern part of Hungary, and is well-known for its long-established wine traditions, high quality, massively tannic red wines, easily accessible cellars and the hospitality of the winegrowers. Not only strong commitment to quality, but utmost respect of traditions features the winemakers of the region. The produces predominantly red wines, like Cabernet Franc, under the Villányi Franc brandname, but some nice whites have

also appeared in the market recently.

You meet in the evening at a Wine Chapel, in one of the most impressive cellars of the region. The visit of the circular cellar is an exceptional adventure. Dinner with a selection of wines is served at the winery’s restaurant afterwards. Overnight in Villány.

Day 4

You will start the day with a small walking tour to a nearby sculpture park to enjoy the landscape before visiting one of the most prominent wine estates in Hungary and taste wines. Besides making high prestige wines, the winery also organizing local festivals and sponsors different art-related events. Having visited the cellar, you grab your picnic baskets, full of local farm products, and stroll in the vineyards.

You are having your lunch in the open air, among the vineyards (weather permitting). There will be a free time for further exploration of the cellars of the main street of Villány town. You will have dinner with wines at a distinguished winery, located at the foot of the region’s iconic hill with a beautiful view of the vineyards. Both the quality of the wines and the services of the estate are exceptional. They are determined to make great, elegant, and uniquely Hungarian wines. Overnight stay will be in Villány.

Day 5

You will check-out in the morning and travel to Siklós town for visiting the Djami of Malkoch Bej, built during the Turkish occupation dating from the sixteenth century. Later, you might visit the gorgeous Mariagyűd Basilika. The twin-spired pilgrimage church of Máriagyűd and the cloister were home to Franciscan monks offering mental care for those in need. The statue of Mary in the church is from 1712. On your way back to Budapest, you will visit another fascinating winemaker, have a little vineyard walk and taste wines, and have lunch. You leave the region late in the afternoon and arrive in Budapest at around 18:00 to 19:00.

Visiting Kalocsa, Paprika Museum

Visiting the city of Pécs

The 7,800 hectare region, bordered by the Danube and Drava and the Balaton, consist of four areas: Villány, Szekszárd, Tolna and Pécs. Its most characteristic grapes are Cabernet Sauvignon and Franc, Merlot, and its specialities Cirfandli, what is white here, and the reds, Kékfrankos, Kadarka, Portugieser.

Villany Wine Region

The region is located in a continuous hilly area, the Mecsek and the Villány Hills, and is characterized by plentiful sunshine and a strongly Mediterranean mesoclimate. It boasts diverse soils including the limestone blocks of the Mecsek as well as the loess and loam parts of Villány and the clay hillsides. The sunny region is typically home to Mediterranean-style wines. Terroir enhances the differences of the vineyards for their aroma and flavor characters, like in Burgundy.

Hungary’s first complete system for protection of origin was developed in Villány. The symbol for it is the crocus, which symbolises the region’s strong commitment to high quality standards, the protection and trust of its wines. Nowadays, the wine region is playing special attention to Cabernet Franc, which has gained great popularity since the 1990s and is the basis of the

finest wines. Wines made from 100% Cabernet Franc have also been given the protected origin name Villányi Franc.

Visitors to the wine region, should take in the characteristic three-storey cellar village of Villánykövesd, or Palkonya, whose cellar rows with their colorful doors is one of the most scenic monuments in the country, and which are protected as monuments of folk architecture.

Szekszard Wine Region

The soils are characterised mainly by loess, more precisely, sand and sediment deposited here by the Pannonian Sea. Its climate is almost Mediterranean, characterized by hot summers, coupled with excellent water and heat retention in the area, enabling the region to produce wines of outstanding quality.

Szekszárd and Eger are entitled to use the name Bikavér (Bull’s Blood), what is one of the most eminent wine here. Its backbone is Kékfrankos, with another important element being Kadarka. Some fruity rosés and siller wines with good acidity are also produced here. Szekszárd is setting a good example in terms of winemaker cooperation, since they began to work together very early to create the Szekszárd style. The result of the winemakers’ common work is the Szekszárd bottle, which can only be used for the region’s main varieties.

The symbol of the city a sarcophagus confirms the fact, that Roman settlers cultivated vines around Alisca (Szekszárd) in the 3rd century. Emperor Probus was famous for his devotion for wine and established vineyards throughout Pannonia. (Western part of today’s Hungary). Later in the 18th century German farmers brought their discipline and sophisticated viticulture.

The city of Pecs

The city is an unmissable destination for anyone interested in culture. Pécs is rich in cultural places, among others The Zsolnay Cultural Quarter, the Csontváry Museum, the Mosque and so on. There are also three monuments here which feature on the UNESCO World Heritage List: the ancient Christian tombs of Pécs from the 4th century, the Ancient Christian Mausoleum and the 1,600-year-old tombs of the Cella Septichora Visitors’ Centre.

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• 4 nights’ accommodation
• 5 lunches, 4 dinners with wines
• Entrance fees
• Sightseeing in Villány, Szekszárd wine regions
• Visit to Kalocsa, Paprika Museum
• Visit to the city of Pécs
• 7 wine tastings and cellar visits
• Vineyard walk
• Transfer during the stay
• Wine a'More's tour guide

• Prices of optional programs
• Personal expenses
• Drinks and food other than detailed in the program

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• A reservation requires a deposit of 40% of the total price.
• The deposit is non-refundable, if the booking is cancelled.
• The rest of the payment should be paid 30 days before arrival.